


Axel, Salchow, Double Lutz, Loop

by rainbowagnes



Series: Holiday Fics 2017 [2]
Category: The Diviners Series - Libba Bray
Genre: F/M, Ice Skating, Modern AU, New York City, POV Character of Color
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-19
Updated: 2017-12-19
Packaged: 2019-02-17 03:50:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 687
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13068507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rainbowagnes/pseuds/rainbowagnes
Summary: Memphis take Isaiah ice skating and runs into an Olympian-in-training.(Or Ling tries her hand at matchmaking.)





	Axel, Salchow, Double Lutz, Loop

**Author's Note:**

> I think this installment can be roughly seen as a sequel to "Gotta love those Starbucks lovers," in which Memphis not-so-subtly sets Ling up with Alma. Gotta say, Ling's a much more subtle matchmaker. 
> 
> Content warning that I don't know anything at all about ice skating!

"Okay, Ice Man. You can open your eyes now." 

Isaiah hesitantly lifted his mittened hands off his eyes, though Memphis suspected he'd been peeking for a while. 

"Woah." 

Memphis smiled. "It's not quite the same as becoming a waterbender (the first item on Isaiah's Christmas list last year), but we can see if you're star hockey player material." 

The ice rink was usually packed at this time of year, but Memphis knew the (usually appropriately icy) ticket seller Ling from their shared, hated, required economics class, and she'd let them in early with one of her grudging smiles.

It took a few tries to find the right size skates for Isaiah, but within a few minutes they were apprehensively stepping towards the ice, doing their best to balance on the supportive foam mats and dreading the thought of the slippery ice. 

Isaiah surged ahead of Memphis on to the ice. The rink stretched out in front of them. It looked a bit like a a sheet of printer paper hemmed in by glass walls. 

"It's slippery." 

"Shocking." Isaiah had figured out how to inch along a bit, but Memphis was still strongly in the wall-grabbing stage. His feet constantly felt like they were slipping out from under him. The shiny, untouched state of the ice would probably be perfect conditions for an experienced skater, but hell for him. 

"I thought you said you'd done this before!" Isaiah had gotten the hang of gliding- slowly, but steadily. 

"School trip, five years ago." 

"C'mon." Isaiah grabbed Memphis's hand and tried to pull him along the wall, but that just made Memphis more nervous about crashing into Isaiah. 

Which was the exact situation they were in- eleven year old who'd taken to the ice like a duck to water, trying to drag along his somewhat hopeless, much older and larger brother- when the girl skated on. 

Memphis had to squint to believe his eyes at first. She was dressed in full retro fashion, one of those short dresses with beaded fray that rustled as she glided across the ice and a headband with a few giant feathers. The only thing that broke the image was her earbuds. 

It must have been her costume for a competition, because she was seriously good, possibly even professional. She was so absorbed in her routine that she didn't even notice them as she glided on a single skate, pirouetted, sped and jumped in the air, turning two- three? wait, more, many more- times before she landed back on the ice again. 

She finished and paused to catch a breath. Isaiah waved, but Memphis felt like an intruder in a space so markedly hers. 

She pulled out a headphone and waved back. 

"Ling let you in?" She skated over in less time than it took Memphis to turn. 

"Yeah." Darn it. She was pretty- really, really pretty, with her strong dancer's physique and the flashes of her dark hair and dark eyes. There was such a magnetic quality to her, like an actress in an old film. You wanted to lean in and hear what she had to say. "We can go it you wan-" 

She shook her head. "Course not. It's nice to have some company for a change. The ice can get lonely." She held out a hand. "Theta Knight." 

"Memphis Campbell." He pointed at Isaiah, who was watching them with the same kind of grin he reserved for Legend of Korra and Voltron. "And that's my brother Isaiah." 

Isaiah waved again, and Theta waved back. "You want some help." 

"Nah, I think I'm good. Thanks though." 

"Not for you- though I can give you some pointers on technique, if you'd like." She nodded at Memphis. "Your brother." 

"It's not worth the time, honestly.

"Awww, come on." She held her hand out again, and Memphis reluctantly took it and let her pull him away from the wall. She smiled. She had a wicked, red-lipped smile, a smile with an edge to it that said quite a bit more than she let on. "You just need a little guidance from someone who knows how."

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! As always, prompts are always open, both in the comments section or on my Tumblr @ghostborscht


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